Tag Archives: ISIS

The Syrian conflict holds severe long term threats for the United States and its allies. While the most dangerous of these threats may not reveal themselves for years, the fruits of the conflict are already evident in the growth of organizations such as the Islamic State. As foreign fighters from across the world gain combat experience and build personal relationships in Syria, they expand a global network of terrorists and terrorist sympathizers. These individuals will greatly increase the capability of terrorist organizations to conduct operations in countries around the world, especially as they return home.

Comments Off on The Advancement of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has made significant territorial gains over the past month as it has moved toward Baghdad. Leveraging the Sunni populations’ disenfranchisement with the central government, the ISIL has successfully taken strategic cities in Anbar, Nineweh, Salah al-Din, and Diyala provinces. This report will analyze the ISIL’s military strategy and offer suggestions as to how the Iraqi government can successfully combat this extremist group.

As the United States embraces a plan to get rid of all chemical weapons in Syria, the Syrian rebels are reorganizing themselves into Islamic coalitions that are independent of the US-backed Syrian National Coalition and are in opposition to an ascendant al-Qaeda. This reorganization represents a significant loss of US influence among the rebels, their willingness to adopt a hard-core Islamist character, and the probability of internal fighting between al-Qaeda and the other Sunni rebels in Syria.

Syria’s political reality is changing from a unified state into a fragmented series of regions. A Sunni enclave is developing in the north and east, a regime controlled area in the west and south, and a Kurdish autonomous area in the northeast. Kurdish autonomy will help bolster Turkish influence in the region while a US-led strike against the regime will only solidify the Balkanizing process in Syria.